Simuka Africa Team Briefing: July 24, 2026
Hello, All:
We hope you’ve had a fantastic week! Please note the following:
Be advised: We are short on submissions for the Portraits of Self Open Call. If you or someone you know would like to submit, we encourage you to submit poetry, art, or a reflective mental health essay on this theme.
Last Call: As previously mentioned, Simuka Africa will attend The World Water Week Conference in August. Virtual Attendance is free. If you would like to attend as a Simuka Africa Representative and provide an SDG 6 article summary of your experience, notify us.
SDG 4 Open Call: Any volunteers with time in their schedule to create graphics or video on the importance of SDG 4 education, libraries, literacy, responsible social media usage themes, notify us.
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Administrative Updates
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Questions about assignments or protocol? Respond to this Briefing or email [email protected].
Q3 Creative Career Focus Staff Meetings are scheduled Saturdays on the HeyPeers platform. Register here. Virtual Attendance is recommended. We host two additional groups for art therapy and artist peer support.
If you applied for Q3 Service through UNV, be sure to complete the Essential & Mandatory Courses on the UNV E-Campus by Oct 1, 2026.
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The August Social Media Calendar
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The next deadline for assignments is July 31st.
Email all submissions to [email protected]. Check our website and social media for examples of what we publish.
Art Submissions: The 34 Gallery Open Call instructions are here.
Virtual Publications: The Simuka Africa Journal focuses on general SDG content. Interludes only publishes SDG 3.4 Mental Health Content. Articles are 700 words minimum.
Graphic Design & Video: We have a critical need for content in this category. Graphics should be submitted in batches of 4, 8 or 12 based on topics of interest to you within the Briefings each week. Video must be 2 minutes or less.
Please note: Volunteers who notify us of an immediate job interview, event, or conference will be scheduled first to ensure the content is visible prior to the date.
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Suggested Topic List
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Simuka Africa Volunteers have successfully attained employment, internships, Fellowships, and other positions based on their active publication history with us. Report summaries in particular provide an edge in the job interview process.
If you have time in your schedule to complete one of these, notify us with your selected topic by responding to this briefing or emailing us directly:
SDG 3: Empathy: definition, its role in social development & its societal benefits
SDG 3: Self-Care tips after a friendship or relationship ends.
SDG 3: The Parental Caregiver: Coping strategies for caregivers of parents with chronic or terminal conditions.
SDG 3: Time management: tips & strategies to maintain a solid routine.
SDG 4: The birds of East and Southern Africa & their role in the ecosystem (minimum 5 birds).
SDG 4: The Famous Rivers of Africa - history & current condition.
SDG 4 & 14: Protecting Marine Ecosystems.
SDG 4 & 14: Coastal Erosion: definition, conditions and current interventions.
UNICEF Report Summary: The Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026
WHO Report Summary: Psychological self-help interventions
WHO Report Summary: Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia
Can’t make the deadline? Things happen. Just notify us so your task can be reassigned. However, be advised that Simuka Africa is unable to issue recommendation letters or UNV reports on your behalf without a record of submitted assignments during the quarter.
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The United Nations System: An Introduction
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Global Insights:
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Industrialization Conference & Expo 2026 || 24 July 2026
UNCTAD: The 2026 World Investment Report
Introduction to the UNCTADstat Data centre
Introduction to HelpAge International
UN: Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global, billion-dollar fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations.
UNESCO: The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.
AU: The African Disability Protocol (ADP) is the first human rights treaty addressing discrimination faced by people with disabilities in African countries.
INCLUSION: ADD is a participatory grant-maker for disability justice. We support disability justice organisations and activists with funding and leadership skills to build powerful movements for change.
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United Nations Employment
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Training: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is offering 16 FREE online courses covering every aspect of intellectual property—from beginner to advanced level.
Training: The UN CC:Learn Open Online Course on Gender and Environment is now open for global learners.
UN Careers - the primary UN career hub
UNJOBNET - daily job listings for the entire UN System
UNJOBNET: Remote Positions - daily updated UN remote work
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Careers
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Careers
Africa CDC African Epidemic Services (AES) Fellowship 2026–2028
UNDP African Youth Co-Creators Council - Deadline JULY 31st
The OECD is recruiting a Policy Analyst – Economist (Social Economy & Social Innovation) to join its international team in Paris, France.
Applications are now open for the European Commission Blue Book Traineeship Programme – March 2027 Session, offering a 5-month paid traineeship across EU institutions with competitive financial support, professional development, and valuable international experience.
Strengthen your expertise in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus through the UNDP Nexus Academy 2026 Multi-Stakeholder Cohort—a globally recognized professional learning programme designed for humanitarian, development, and peace practitioners.
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A.I. Policy, News & Jobs
Our Simuka Africa A.I. Organizational Policy can be found here. It also includes direct links to the A.I. Tools most asked about in job interviews. Additional news:
UN Global Mechanism on ICT Security begins building global capacity architecture.
Kimi K3, a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model, has narrowed the gap with leading US AI models and outperformed some rivals on coding benchmarks, even though it still trails Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 on several advanced evaluations.
The European Commission has fined Alphabet’s Google €890 million for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking one of the bloc’s most significant enforcement actions under its new competition framework for digital platforms.
A US federal judge has approved a landmark US$1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and a class of authors, bringing to a close what has been described as the largest certified copyright class action and the largest copyright settlement to date.
A.I. & Tech Creative Job Opportunities
Data Annotation: Train AI as a Medical Expert
Data Annotation: Train AI as a Legal Expert
The Digital Humanism Junior Visiting Fellowship is offering applications to support researchers the opportunity to spend three months at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna to advance research on Digital Humanism.
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Opportunities
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Career Tip, I: “What autism can teach us about leadership” — Syreeta Brown | TEDxRichmond
Career Tip, II: “How to Accomplish Anything You Want in Just 10 Minutes a Day” |—Zee Najarian | TEDxRobinson Road
Career Tip, III: Resume.io - build a new resume that meets your needs.
Prestigious Global Mentorship Programme - Deadline JULY 25th
Ireland Fellows Programme 2027/28 - Deadline JULY 26th
Feminist Leadership Accelerator for Change (FLAC) Fellowship 2026 - Deadline JULY 27th
Wiko Early Career Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences
Stellenbosch University MSc Conservation Ecology Bursary 2027
The Girls for the Boardroom (G4B) Fellowship 2026 is inviting applications from girls and young women worldwide for a 10-week global leadership and mentorship programme designed to build confidence, leadership skills, and practical experience. - Deadline Friday, August 7, 2026
Imaginarius 2027 has announced an open call inviting national and international artists, collectives, and organisations to submit artistic projects for inclusion in the programme of its festival of performing arts in public space. - Deadline JULY 30th
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Food For Thought
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I. Self-Care Tip: “We Stress Too Much for a Life That Can End at Any Second. Make Sure to Live” by Leadership First
In closing, please note that establishing a professional self-care regime is also recommended during your time with us. One easy way to incorporate self-care is to use a jar or decorative container as a focal point in self-improvement. Here are 4 ways:
The Self-Care Jar: Write down self-care activities on strips of paper. Select one on your days off or when you need time to recharge.
The Affirmation Jar: Write down inspirational quotes, messages, and reminders on decorative paper in a jar. Select one each day as a positive boost.
The Motivation Jar: Write down your goals for the month on strips of paper. Place them in a jar. Select one each day to work on. Remove from the jar when a goal is complete.
The Treat Jar: At the end of each day, place all spare currency into the jar. Purchase a treat on the 30th of the month to begin the next month on a light note. Or save up for a larger purchase for New Year’s to start January with a positive mindset.
This weekend, make time to dream. ❤
— The Simuka Africa Team
May hope, peace & unity be with you.
